1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus for conveying such belt-shaped materials as tapes utilized for a tape recorder or the like, and ribbon shaped transfer printing member utilized for picture image forming apparatus or the like, and more particularly apparatus which while conveying a belt-shaped material can determine the remaining (not yet used) length of the belt-shaped material and can visually display the remaining length, if desired.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As is well known in the art, in the operation of a tape recorder or a picture image forming apparatus, means for paying out and taking up the tape or transfer printing member, or a belt-shaped material conveying apparatus is generally used. Taking the conveying apparatus of the transfer printing member utilized for picture image forming apparatus as an example, a thermal transfer printing type apparatus will be described hereunder. The thermal transfer type image forming apparatus is constructed such that the image transfer is achieved with the aid of a thermal head acting as a recording head using an image transfer printing material with a thermally fusible or vaporizable coloring agent coated thereon. Since the conventional thermal transfer printing type image forming apparatus is designed to have a small size, and can be manufactured at a low cost, it generates less noise and can use an ordinary sheet of paper as the transfer printing material, so that such apparatus are now being widely used not only for the purpose of recording the outputs of computers, word processors or the like but also as copying machines.
However, prior art transfer copying member conveying apparatus utilized for the picture image forming apparatus of the type described above is not provided with any means that can efficiently detect the remaining quantity of the transfer printing member so that the operator is required to visually confirm the remaining quantity. Accordingly, it has been difficult to always know the remaining quantity and to accurately confirm the same visually.